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TAR SAND, OIL SAND, SHALES, AND THE LIKE ARPARATUS FOR RECOVEHING BI KIE'ILSEY TUMEN AND CRUDE OIL FROM BITUMINOUS SANDSTQNE,

Filed July 18 firm/WWW MM Patented Nov. t, 192d.

PATENT OPFIQH.

ALEXANDER liRAIhTOIE; IlililllSlEflf', 015 EDMUNTUN, ALBERTA, CANADA FOB RECUVEIEUING? IBIT'U APPARATUS IN AND GI'Et'lLT D19 GIL lblittllll: 'ftlltlt SAND, OIL SAND,

BITUMINOUS ElA'NDhIUl'illEl, .ttllifl] Tlirl'j LIKE.

Application filed. July it,

To all who /2t it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER FRANCIS KELsnY, a subject 01 the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Etll'llOll ton, in the Province of Alberta and Dominion of Canada, steam engineer, have inventedcertain new and useful Improve ments in Apparatus for Recoverin Bitumen. and CrudeOil from Tar hand, Oil bland, Bituminous Sandstone, Shales, and the like, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to method and ap paratus for recovering bitumen and crude oil from tar sand, oil sand, bituminous sand-- stone shale, and the like, and the objects oil: the invention are to provide a simple and effective method and apparatus by which the valuable bitumen and crude oil may be recovered from tar sand, oil sand, bituminous sandstone, shales and the like, in the most efficient way possible and with apparatus of an extremely simple character.

More particular ob 'ects of he invention are to avoid the use of any solvent, which is dangerous in use on account of its inflammable or explosive nature, to avoid as far as possible the use of moving parts in the apparatus whereby the enpendlture of H power may be reduced or limited, to avoid the use of any heat treatment which will deteriorate the quality of the bitumen and to enable the process to be carried on with low pressure steam.

More particular objects of the invention are to generally simplify and modify the process to enable the various steps to be economically carried out in such a manner asto produce the highest yield possible of the valuable constituents in the material treated.

i It consists essentially of the improved method and apparatus hereinafter described in detail in the accompanying specification and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure lis a sectional elevation of an apparatus which. may be used to carry out the method.

Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line m m, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional detail on the line y y, Figure 1.

wall. Eerial Itto. dElEiAtlt.

In the drawings, like characters of refer{ ence lndicate corresponding parts in all the A3, and A which are open at the bottom and have conduits 11 leading from the top to an overflow tank H. i

C, U, C and C" indicate screens below the separating compartment, and through which. the sand is designed to pass, these screens being located above steps in a waste conduit 12 formed with two branches discharging into containers E, of which two are provided and in which the separated sand falls after the bitumen is collected, each oi? these containers being formed with a door 21 at the bottom through which the sand can be dropped out to waste. The screens C, G C 0 are graded insize from one inch to one-eighth of an inch.

D, D D, D indicate screens located in the containers, A, A A A a distance above the bottonrthereof and being of substantially one-half of an inch in mesh.

h a water supply pipe through which water or brine is supplied under pressure, entering the compartment A and supplied in sufficient quantity to maintain a proper level, as hereinafter described. The object of using brine in place of water is to in crease the specific gravity by increasing the difference between the gravity of the fluid and the oil or bitumen, and thus causes the latter to rise more rapidly and positively to the surface. a

G indicates a shutter mounted in the conduit 12 and adapted to deflect the material passing therethrough into either one of the containers lil, valves 16 being provided in the branches 16 which lead to the containers whereby the brine may be shut oil and retained when the door 21 is open.

An opening 24 is provided through which the tar sand may pass from the chute B to the container A, and corresponding openings 24?, 24: 24, are provided between the containers, A A and A The opening 24 having first been closed. by

a sliding door 24?, steam or hotcompressed air is then supplied through the conduit 20 into valves 19 opened so as to allow an equal quantity of steam to pass through each valve.

The brine is maintained to a determined lever in the overflow tank H, the brine passing out of the tank" through a suitable overflow conduit 31, the bitumen being design to pass out of an overflow conduit or chute 32 at the top thereof.-

As soon as the brine in the container is brought to a predetermined point, the slidll lgl d OOlfg l is raised a short distance, say, one inch, so as to allow the tar sand to enter the separator A on the screen G. As the tar sand. disintegrates'in this container, the bitumen released will rise through the brine into the conduit 11 and so overflow into the overflow tank H.

, As 'soon'as the lumps oftar sand are sufficiently reduced, they will fall through the screen C and pass on down into the separating compartment At, when the process is again repeated, as is also the case in the separators A and A15, the separated sand finally passing through the conduit 12 in one or other of the containers E.

As soon as one container E is full, the shutter G is turned over and the valve 16 closed so as to prevent escape of the liquid, and the sand is then removed from the container El I The tarsandf may be fed. continuously into the upperpart lat of the chute B: The water level is maintained suf'ficientlyhigh to enable the bitumen to, overflow through the conduit 32' without any' undue quantity or W'aterpa'ssin'g over Withi't; In some cases it will be necessary to use asolvent, such as kerosene, in the overflowtankH, and, to enable thist'o be done, check-valves 33 are provided at the't'op of the conduits ll of a character to preventreturn flow of the li uid. It'is also possible to use ea-ted compressed air, instead of steam for heating the liquid.

The number of separating compartments usedfwillldependonthe degree to which it. is necessary to carry on the separation, and willbe-dependent upon the'character of the sand being treated. In some instances, the treatment may be effected with only one separating compartment.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many widely different embodiments o'f'my invention within the scope. of. the claims,:con'structed without departing from. the spirit or scope thereof, it is intended. that. all matter. contained in the accompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

hat I claim as my invention is:

1. An apparatus for the purpose specified comprising a separating container having an overflow conduit, a waste conduit connected to the bottom of the said container, means for feeding material into the side of the container, a screen in the lower part of the container, means 'for heating the material in the container, means for maintaining a flow of water through the container, and means for feeding material from the waste conduit, the said means comprising a pivoted shutter, a compartment and valved conduits leading from the shutter to the said compartment.

2. An apparatus for the purpose specified comprising a separating container having an overflow conduit and a waste conduit, the latter being connected to the bottom of the container, means for feeding material into the side of the container, a screen inthe lower part of the said container, means for heating material inthe container, means for maintain-ing a flow of water through the container, a plurality of branches connected to the waste conduit, and means for directing the material from the waste conduit to either of the said branches.

3. An apparatus for the purpose specified comprising a separating container having an overflow conduit and a waste conduit, the latter being connected to the bottom of the container, means for feeding material into the side of the container, a screen in the lower part of the. container, means for heatingmaterial. in the container, means for maintaining a flow of water through the container, a plurality of branches connected to the waste conduit, and means for directing the material from the waste conduit to either of the said branches, the said means comprising a pivoted shutter, and valves. in each of said branches.

4. Aniapparatus for the purpose specified comprising an overflow tank, a separating container below the. overflow tank, a valve conduit connecting the container with the overflow tank, the said container being formed at the bottom with openings on opposite sides, one opening being below the other, an inclined screen extending. from the upper side of one opening to the lower side of the lower opening, an inclined bottom below the screen, means for feeding material into the upper opening, and a screen in the upper part of the container adapted to screen the material passing from the container into the overflow tank.

5. An apparatus of the character described, comprising an overflow tank, a pluralit'y of stepped laterally adjacent containers, each located a short distance above the other, conduits connecting; each of the containers With the botom of the overflow tank, screens in each container, separately controlled heating means for each container, means for feeding material into the side of the uppermost container, and from the side a of each container to the one laterally adjacent and below the same, and means for circulating a fluid through all the con tainers.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two Witnesses.

ALEXANDER FRANCIS KELSEY. Witnesses:

G. G. CUFF, R. H MUNN. 

